Before her appointment as chairwoman of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse, Ms Justice Mary Laffoy was a senior member of the High Court whose name was being mentioned as a candidate for the Supreme Court.
Although her practice as a barrister had mainly been in conveyancing, land law and property, she developed a much wider expertise as a High Court judge, and developed a reputation for both courtesy and mastery of difficult cases.
Ms Justice Laffoy was educated at an Irish-speaking college, Coláiste Mhuire, in Tourmakeady, Co Mayo, UCD and the King's Inns. She was called to the Bar in 1971, and became a senior counsel in 1987.
At that time she was one of only three women members of the Inner Bar, the other two being Ms Susan Denham and Mrs Mary Robinson.
At her appointment to the High Court in 1995, she became the second woman on the High Court, along with Ms Mella Carroll. The third woman to be so elevated, Ms Justice Denham, had by then been promoted to the Supreme Court.